the unlikely orange

in what seems like an afterward, added later by an editor to put a nice bow on the story, chapter 10 of esther is a mere 3 verses long.  all we learn is that the king imposed a tribute; that all his good works are recorded in the annals; and that mordecai rose to second in charge, held in high esteem by the jews.  as is typical of women characters in the bible, esther isn't' even given the dignity of an end to her story.  we have no idea what happened to her.  we only know that because of her courage, mordecai rose from sackcloth and ashes to glory.  in that sense, it is a redemption story.  but a messy one, to be sure.  i hope that at least some of you have enjoyed this lengthy jaunt through what seems to be a both familiar and yet completely unfamiliar little story in our scriptures.  i (mostly) tried to avoid moralizing and sermonizing here, although it creeped in from time to time.  instead, my goals were to (1) show the freedom we ...

oh boy.  we've reached chapter 9, and in what should have been a chapter of happy endings and celebrations of peace and restoration, we instead find a brutal bloody story of violence and revenge.  having received mercy, the jews in this story fail to see the benefit in extending it, and instead resort to violence, killing "seventy five thousand."  scholars who have argued for a less literal interpretation of the story of esther argue that this mass killing is not found in the recorded history of these times and places.  but regardless of whether it is 'true' or not, it raises a poignant question for us about what we do with mercy when its been given to us: hoard it?  or share it?  the chapter ends with a detailed prescription for celebrating purim, a holy day still celebrated by jews who remember the story we've been recounting these last 9 days.  if you have the stomach for it, here's chapter 9.  esther 9 paper collage on vinyl lp; paper collage...

as we move into the final stages of this story, we reach resolution.  at least it seems that way in chapter 8.  when we get to chapter 9 tomorrow, that will be a whole 'nother thing.  but at least for today, we find esther petitioning the king one more time. she's been saved.  mordecai's been saved and honored as the king's new main man.  but this horribly violent edict is still hanging out there.  will all the jews be slaughtered?  she begs the king to revoke his irrevocable word.  and he obliges her by sending out a new edict, that says the jews are allowed to assemble and defend themselves.  mordecai puts on the royal signet ring and robes, presses the hot wax on the papyrus, and rides throughout susa and the surrounding areas with pride.  you can read the whole thing here.   for today, at least, it seems like a happy ending. esther 8 paper collage on vinyl lp; paper collage on album cover gregory a. milinovich esther (eight) w...

here in esther 7 we finally get back to the little banquet (actually the second one) that esther is throwing for the king and for haman, to try and ask this little favor that he not destroy all the jews.  she plays her cards right and things don't look too good for haman.  it looks even worse when the king comes into the room a bit later and it looks like haman is taking advantage of the queen.  how to punish haman?  ahh, yes...he had been building a gallows for mordecai...that will be perfect.  things have taken quite a turn, haven't they?  maybe even upside down.  oh, and by the way, still no mention of God.  where is God in all of this? you can read the chapter here.   esther 7 paper collage on vinyl lp; paper collage on album cover gregory a. milinovich esther (seven) as the world slips through his fingers, the king laughs. always laughing, always drinking, always empty, the king reigns. the world is turning... still, they are drinki...

in esther 6 the tables begin to turn a bit (and the upside down world starts to rotate).  in a fit of insomnia, the king has someone read to him the royal records, in hopes that it will help him doze off.  as he listens, he hears the story of mordecai discovering the plot to asassinate him.  when he finds out that mordecai has not been properly thanked for this, he asks haman what should be done to honor a loyal subject.  haman doesn't realize the king is talking about mordecai.  he thinks the king wants to honor him.  so he envisions a royal procession through the kingdom.  the king thinks its a brilliant idea, and commands haman to make it so for mordecai, the jew.  and poor haman has to make it happen.  you can read the real version here .  "esther 6" paper collage on vinyl lp; paper collage on album cover gregory a. milinovich esther (six) pity, pity, pity, the king cannot sleep. shame, shame, shame, his trouble is deep. call o...

don't know if you're following along with my creative retelling of the esther story or not, but just in case you are jumping in late, this 10-day look at the book of esther is a kind of celebration of my 40,000 visitors here at agentorangerecords.  you should probably all be showering me with gifts, but since i'm in a good mood, i'm giving you a gift!  just click here and follow the simple instructions for a chance to win one on my handmade collages.  thanks again for stopping by! esther five has two scenes.  first we find esther risking her life by appearing before the king unbidden.  however, he extends the golden scepter to her, which means he isn't displeased.  she then "touches the end" of his scepter, which results in him offering her whatever she wants, up to half of his kingdom.  hmmm.  perhaps this story isn't as PG as many like to imagine when thinking about the bible.  i'm just sayin. anyway, esther is delaying asking the qu...

the fourth chapter of esther brings a couple of the most famous moments of the book.  basically, mordecai mourns this edict that the king has sent, and he gets to word to esther about it.  afraid for her life, she basically says, "what am i supposed to do about it?"  and mordecai tells her that perhaps she has risen to favor with the king, "for such a time as this."  she takes mordecai's words to heart, and agrees to petition the king, saying, "if i perish, i perish."  you can read it here .  esther 4 paper collage on vinyl lp; paper collage on album cover gregory a. milinovich esther (four) ashes and tears.  gnashing of teeth. we are all going to die. mordecai mourns. where is our hope? where is our promise? where is our future? (WHERE IS GOD IN ALL OF THIS?) mordecai mourns. "only my niece can save us. esther!  save us now, at such a time as this." remembering the queen before her, remembering the price of saying no, esthe...

the third chapter of esther brings us more fully into the conflict of the story. the king has exalted his servant haman to a high place in the king's court, and made everyone at the gate bow to him. but mordecai, the jew (esther's uncle), won't bow to him. haman then convinces the king to send out an edict to all the nobles of the kingdom that on a certain day in the 12th month, all the jews should be killed, and their possessions looted. so, this isn't looking good for esther and mordecai and all the jews in exile in this kingdom. tune in tomorrow to see what happens next. read esther 3 here. "esther (three) paper collage on vinyl lp; paper collage on album cover gregory a. milinovich esther (three) where there is power there is pain. everyone wants what he's got. everything seems fine, but everything's not. all seems to be in order, upside up. but there is growing green. every king has a haman, right hand man. fountain of good ideas. "whatev...

esther chapter two tells us about the inner workings of a harem. that's right. a bunch of young women the king had on call for...um...royal relations. in this chapter we meet esther , a jew who is hiding her nationality, and who is obviously a very beautiful young woman. all who see her are taken with her beauty, including the king, who after his royal night with her decides to make her the queen. there is also another part of the story unfolding, involving her uncle and caregiver mordecai , who keeps a close watch on her and overhears some guards planning an assassination plot on the king. he tells esther , who tells the king, and the plot is uncovered. stay tuned for more exciting action tomorrow. read chapter two here . " esther 2" paper collage on vinyl album, paper collage with poem on album cover gregory a. milinovich esther (two) his high, high, highness is lonely. needs a woman (women) to help him fly. flexing his majestic muscles, his mouth makes more laws....

as i mentioned yesterday, the next 10 days will showcase a project i did on the book of esther from the hebrew scriptures. the book has 10 chapters, and i made 10 corresponding collages and poems, reflecting my own study and understanding of this great little story. each collage was made on a 33 1/3 lp, and each poem presented on the album cover. so each day you'll see a picture of the cover with the poem, and then a picture of the collage itself. i will also include the text of the poem, so that you will be able to read it. esther 1 starts off the story by telling us about kind ahasuerus, a persian king, who wanted to flaunt his power by throwing a huge party. you can kind of get the genre of this story right off the bat, as it starts something like this, "once upon a time there was a great king who wanted to throw a great party. and so he gathered all the people of the land, and for sixth months they celebrated. then he gathered all his servants and officials in the p...